New Poisonous Frog Species Discovered in Peru
A peculiar croak heard within the Amazon rain forest leads to the naming of a new species of frog.
Deep in the Peruvian Amazon, in a region known as the Manú Biosphere Reserve, Shirley Jennifer Serrano Rojas crouched near a stream. She listened while her audio recorder tracked the noise of the rain forest around her. Then she heard something: an unfamiliar frog’s croak, not far off. But as soon as she snapped her head to locate the source of the sound, it disappeared.
It was the summer of 2013, and Serrano Rojas—a senior field scientist with the Crees Foundation—had been surveying amphibians in this part of Peru. She had heard all kinds of calls, but she didn’t recognize this one.
Back at camp later that day, her advisor, Andrew Whitworth, listened to the recording and confirmed Serrano Rojas’
